The present invention is particularly applicable to supporting any horticultural crop or plant that normally cannot support its own weight or could potentially benefit from a support structure and will be discussed with particular reference thereto; however, the invention has broader applications and may be used to support a variety of plants and may also be used to support a fencing assembly. It is well known in the field of horticulture to provide wooden or metallic stakes for supporting various fruit, flower and vegetable plants during their growth or at certain periods of growth when the stems of the plants are susceptible to damage. Typically these stakes are positioned adjacent to the base of the plant and inserted into the ground. The stem of the plant is attached to the stake by tying the stem with a string or cloth tie. This method of supporting plants requires a significant amount of time and labor to properly secure the plants to the stakes. The labor and time necessary to use this plant support system is further exasperated since the plant ties must be periodically repositioned due to the natural growth of the plant. These typical plant stakes fail to adequately support the plants without constant maintenance because of slippage of the ties on the stake. Wooden stakes when exposed to the natural elements tend to rot, split and warp. Wooden stakes typically have a life of only two to three years. Furthermore, commercial growers typically only use wooden stakes for one season since wood cannot be adequately sterilized to prevent disease carry-over. Iron or steel plant support devices are sometimes used instead of wood support devices. These stakes are much heavier and cumbersome than wooden stakes thus increasing the difficulty and time to install. These stakes also tend to bend at ground level after being inserted into the ground, thus making the stakes difficult to use in subsequent seasons. Iron and steel stakes tend to rust over extended periods of exposure to the atmosphere, thus weakening the stakes from season to season. Rusting of the stakes is accelerated when the stakes are sterilized with a chlorine solution. Hollow aluminum stakes have also been used; however, such stakes easily bend and are relatively expensive when made with a diameter sufficient to support heavy plants. Accordingly, iron, steel and aluminum stakes are characterized as costly in both material and labor.
There have been several efforts in the past to provide plant support devices to overcome these deficiencies. One such attempt can be found in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,293 which discloses a plastic tubular support member having a plurality of openings in the support member walls. Clips are provided with the tubular support member such that the clips fit around the pole and one end of the clip is secured to hole slots in the support member while the other side of the clip is unsecured from the pole. While adequate support is provided by this type of assembly, the pole support device tends to bend when supporting heavier plant and/or fencing. Furthermore, the support device is not adjustable in length to provide support for a variety of types of plants during their growth. Finally, the support device is not convenient to use when the weave method for supporting plants is used since the string ties tend to slip down on the support devices.